Days of Evolution's Past
by Very-Bored-Anon
Summary: To prevent the making of the Sentinels and the death of their brethren, Rachel and her team of surviving mutants (plus one human) travel back in time to find the first generation X-Men.
1. Chapter 1

**Days of Evolution's Past**

Year 2025

Rachel was sick of everything—sick of running, of hiding, of this stupid world.

Dark, cold, and desolate is what the world is now. Everywhere you look, you will see rubble—ruins of once famous buildings. Whether buried below or lying above, there were dead bodies everywhere, all of which were mutants. There was only place left that was the same as it was, but it was only for humans. As for mutants, their only choice is to keep running. Otherwise, the Sentinels will catch up and it will be the end for them, too.

The Jean Grey School for Higher Learning, once a great school for anything categorized as abnormal, now turned into base for the Sentinels and those who created them, has become an experimental laboratory for mutants. What was once a safe haven for those who weren't human was now a prison for them.

The number of mutants in this world has been reduced to less than fifty. They were either imprisoned or on the run. Most of them were on their own, and very few had formed groups. Rachel was the latter—she formed a team of runaways.

In Rachel's group were the redhead herself, TJ the German demon-like body-possessor, Polaris the green-haired mistress of magnetism, Magik the blonde sorceress with the unique ability of teleportation, Iceman (whose name pretty much explains his powers) and his eight-year-old son, Carmen the phasing icicle, Luna the empath who was also blonde, and Shogo the human from Hungary with some wrecked-useless robotic gear.

* * *

Shockingly, it was Magik who they lost first. She'd teleported them to a wrecked McDonald's restaurant to get some food, but everything was rotten and mouldy. Then, they were brought to the French Laundry, an oddly named French restaurant somewhere in the US, which was also a pile of rubble. Carmen phased into the debris to search for any edibles while Rachel and Luna monitoring him from the surface. Moments later, he returned with a box. Inside it was stale bread.

Rachel sighed. "Better than nothing, I guess."

The bread was torn into separate chunks for the runaways, and they ate quickly so they could get out of there as soon as possible.

"Ze darn zing is so dry," TJ complained. "Has our water supply finally melted?"

Luna took out a canteen from her backpack. Inside it was half-melted ice, so she shook head. "Only half-way through," she told her cousin. TJ groaned.

Carmen himself, however, simply kept his chunk of bread into his backpack and transformed to his ice form. "If I stay like this," he said, "then I won't have to eat, like dad."

"No, Carmen," Iceman said sternly. "You're a growing kid—you _need_ to eat. Otherwise, you won't have energy to use your powers."

Carmen frowned but turned back to normal to eat his bread. "But you're in your ice form, dad."

"Yeah, but I'm an adult," Iceman answered. "That's different."

Carmen, irritated, doesn't answer and just ate his bread.

But just as they were done, Polaris gasped. "They're here!" she cried.

As if on cue, a black ship glided through the black heaven, dropping cocoon-like figures down upon them. The runaways dodged the objects and watch with horror as the Sentinels stood before them, ready to burn their faces off.

Using her telekinesis, Rachel erected an invisible shield and ordered Magik, "Take them away! _Now!_ "

Magik nodded, and quickly opened a stepping disk. "Go!" she told the others.

As everyone escaped, Rachel maintained her shield while the Sentinels repeatedly pounded on the invisible wall and blew high-temperature flames. Sweat beaded on Rachel's forehead. She could feel the heat and every pound weakened her endurance.

"Rachel!" Magik shouted. "Come on!"

With one hand, Rachel kept the shield up and jumped into the stepping disk. Finally, she dropped the shield, only to realize in horror that Magik wasn't with them as they travelled to their next destination. Rachel used her telepathy to find Magik, and entered her mind. She watched as Magik tried to hold off the Sentinels with her Soulsword before hopping into the disk, only to be impaled the second she turned away.

Rachel screamed in pain in Magik's place as she fell out of Limbo into her new safe haven. Thus was how they lost Magik, their transporter.

* * *

Next was Polaris. This time, the runaways needed to rest. They found a nice cosy place in the temple behind the Great Wall of China. Just as they were half-way through the night, the doors were torn open, and they woke up with a start. Polaris got up first, picking up the rusty iron doors with her metal manipulation abilities and using them stop the Sentinels' flames.

With Magik gone now, it was up to Rachel to be their transporter. Rachel would have to use the Phoenix Force to take them away. But doing so drained her, so she needed a lot of rest. It didn't help that she had to carry about six other people with her.

When they arrived at the temple, Rachel was the one who brought them. Now, with only four hours of sleep, she had to bring them out, except for the fact that she could hardly stand straight, much less focus.

"Rachel!" Polaris yelled. Her voice was strained. "Get everyone else out! Forget about me!"

"No!" Rachel cried. She couldn't lose another one of her friends.

Despite the Sentinels clawing at the doors, Polaris smiled at Rachel. "Yes, you can."

Before Rachel could protest, Luna placed a hand on her face, lending her some of her psychic abilities. The young girl's eyes glowed gold.

"We must go," Luna said sadly.

With tears pouring from her eyes, Rachel summoned the Phoenix. The blue aura wrapped its wings around the runaways, minus Polaris, and took them away.

* * *

After all the horrors they experienced, finally came some relief: Shadowcat found them, bringing Lockheed with her.

She had been staying in outer space with another superhero team—the Guardians of the Galaxy—and had returned to Earth to visit her old family, only to find everything gone in her absence. It took her a long time to find her old friends and joined them in their escapades.

"We can't keep this up," Shadowcat said as she watched Rachel slumped on the ground, panting tiredly after teleporting them away again.

"It's ze only zing we can do," TJ said forlornly.

"Yeah, the only thing," Shadowcat said angrily. "Run, hide, run, hide—that's all! We can't keep doing this. We're just delaying our deaths!"

"What else _can_ we do?" Iceman asked. "We only have two options: One, run for the rest of our lives, or two, go get killed in the most gruesome way possible."

"Or _three_ ," Carmen added—

"Out of question, kid," Iceman interrupted.

Shadowcat ignored Iceman and knelt in front of her eight-year-old son. "What is the third option, Carmen?"

"Time-travel!" he said excitedly. "Using the Phoenix Force!"

" _That_ is too risky!" Iceman said.

Shadowcat stood up and faced her husband with Lockheed on her shoulder hissing at him. "Yes, it is. But _that_ is the best idea we have."

"And what if that fails?" Iceman asked. "Time-travel is too risky! What if they enter the wrong timeline? What if they fail to change the past, or even worse, do succeed and worsen things? What if nothing changes at all?"

Shadowcat slapped Iceman. "You used to be so hopeful—coming up stupid ideas, being a stupid too-dumb-to-live devil—where's that side of you gone?"

"It was gone so our son's life wouldn't be endangered!" Iceman replied.

Around the two, the others watched them like they were some intense tennis match, turning their heads left and right as they watched the argument. Between his parents, Carmen was whimpering guiltily.

"One day, the rest of us will be wiped out," Shadowcat said in a low voice. "Earth's humans are becoming dirtier and dirtier. Eventually, what're left would be the worst of them. Do you want that?"

Iceman didn't answer that question, but only said, "Rachel is the only one able to bring everyone back in time now. But she isn't like Magik—she doesn't practise that part of her often."

"She'll have her chance soon," Shadowcat said.

"Look," Iceman said irritably, "if you're so keen about time-travel, why don't you ask your Star Lord boyfriend to get that raccoon to build a time machine?"

"Don't bring Peter into this!" Shadowcat snapped.

Suddenly, there was a thunderous boom above them, shaking the cracked roof of their hideout. Shadowcat cursed. "They're here."

"How did they find us so fast?!" Shogo asked. "We just arrived here ten minutes ago!"

"And we're leaving now!" Shadowcat said. "Pick up Rachel and get out of here!"

Shogo carried Rachel in his arms and led the younger runaways to another room as the ceiling fell apart. Three Sentinels dropped in, surrounding Shadowcat and Iceman.

"Lockheed," Shadowcat ordered her dragon, "go to Carmen. Take care of him, okay?"

Lockheed made a reluctant hiss, but complied. He flew between the Sentinels, narrowly missing their claws, and latching itself onto Carmen's shoulders.

"Wait," Carmen gasped. "Mom, Dad—"

"Get out of here, Carmen!" Iceman shouted.

"No!" Carmen protested. He stayed planted to the ground. "I'm not leaving you!"

"Yes, you are!" TJ said as she snatched him off his feet and ran after the others.

"TJ!" Carmen cried. "Put me down!"

"Nuh-uh!" TJ replied. "Ve have to go! I know it's hard, but ve can't stay."

"We can't stay in this timeline," Luna said.

"I thought that plan was out of question?" Shogo said.

"But Mrs. Pryde is correct," Luna said. "We can't stay here—we'd die out!"

"But look at the state of Rachel!" Shogo said. "She can't even stand up!"

Rachel gasped. "I… can!"

"Don't force yourself!" TJ said. "Ve need you!"

"I… will…" Rachel wheezed, "prevent… _this_!"

Her back arched in Shogo's arms, causing him to stop in his tracks, making the others stop running. Her eyes opened wide, shining like blue sapphires. Blue aura flowed out of her, forming the shape of a majestic bird. Everybody gathered around Rachel and felt the energy wrap around them.

Outside the aura the Sentinels neared them, having dealt with Shadowcat and Iceman. Carmen looked at them with steely eyes with Lockheed hissing acidly at them, and told the metal monsters, "Too late, tin-heads!"

And the runaways vanished from that timeline.

 **Chapter One *END***


	2. Chapter 2

**Days of Evolution's Past**

Year 2003

"Scott, you got the equation wrong," Jean said.

"What?" Scott said, startled. Rechecking his answer, he answered, "Whoops."

The two of them were at Bayville College's library, studying physics and finishing an assignment. The deadline was next week but Scott and Jean were model students and wanted to finish things as early as possible.

"I'm done," Jean announced, arranging her papers in a neat stack.

"Two more questions," Scott muttered. "And… _I'm done_!"

Scott got shushed by the librarian. He mouthed back an apology as the elderly woman glowered at him. Jean giggled silently.

 _A blue phoenix soared towards its red counterpart._

Suddenly, Jean felt a sharp pain in her head. She pressed her hand against her temple to massage it away.

"Are you okay, Jean?" Scott asked, mildly concerned.

"It's nothing," Jean said, lowering her hand. "Just tired from working so hard, I suppose. C'mon, break is almost over. We need to get to the next lecture."

Scott nodded, and grabbed his things.

* * *

Halfway into the lecture, Jean wondered if she should take an aspirin. Her head was starting to pound. It was like someone was lightly tapping her temples with a plastic hammer. But it wasn't so bad that she couldn't concentrate.

"Jean," Scott asked again, "are you _sure_ you're okay?"

"I'm alright, Scott," Jean replied.

After the lecture, Jean stopped by the nurse's office to ask for some aspirin. Then, she went after Scott to their next lecture. That's when it got really bad.

 _The red phoenix welcomed its blue relative into its bosom._

The pounding worsened. Now, it was like a rubber mallet was knocking her head. Over and over, the word 'delivery' repeated in her mind.

 _The red phoenix carried the blue phoenix to its destination._

"Delivery…" Jean whispered faintly.

"Jean?" Scott said, very worried now.

Without warning, Jean collapsed in the middle of the hallway, surprising other students.

"Jean!" Scott cried. He knelt before her.

Jean was convulsing like she was having a seizure. Scott scooped her up in his arms and dashed out of the hall.

"Coming through!" he told the other students as he rushed past them. Leaving the building, Scott quickly got into his car, put Jean in the passenger seat, and drove back to the mansion. "Hold on, Jean!" he told his girlfriend.

* * *

"Would you care to explain what happened in school today?" Xavier asked his students, Kitty and Kurt.

The two teenagers refused to meet neither the professor's eyes nor each other's.

Xavier sighed. "Kurt, Kitty, please don't make me read your minds."

"It wasn't Kurt's fault," Kitty said, looking down shamefully.

"Kitty vas just trying to protect my feelings," Kurt said, turning away guiltily.

With answers like that, Xavier was seriously contemplating about reading their minds, but was interrupted by the telephone ringing. He told the two young mutants, "You are excused. We will discuss this later."

Kitty and Kurt, without using the door, left Xavier's office. The bald man picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

" _Professor?"_ said Scott's worried voice.

"Scott?" Xavier said, sensing Scott's concern. "What's the matter?"

" _It's… It's Jean,"_ Scott said, sighing shakily. _"She collapsed, so I'm taking her back now. Can you ask Hank to ready the scanner?"_

"Of course," Xavier replied. "Get her home as soon as possible." Then, he hung up.

He placed a finger on his temple and summoned Hank, telling him telepathically, _Hank, ready the scanner. Jean is unwell. We'll need to put her in a big room, so set the bed in the Danger Room._

 _Roger_ —was Hank's reply.

* * *

As ordered, Jean was laid upon an infirmary bed in the Danger Room. Hank had attached some probes onto her head, scanning for anomalies, while Jean herself was writhing on the bed.

"During the whole way back," Scott told Hank and Xavier, "she kept repeating the word 'delivery'."

"Did she?" Hank said, rubbing his chin contemplatively. He turned to Jean. While writhing, Jean seemed to be mouthing the word 'delivery'. "So, she is."

"What's wrong with her?" Scott asked.

Hank checked the monitor. "Jean seems to have picked up some sort of wavelength, and it's a heavy one."

Scott wanted ask _what_ was that wavelength, but then Jean screamed, her back arching as she levitated off the bed. But it didn't sound like her voice; rather, it was like a bird screeching. Her eyes opened wide, now fiery red orbs.

"Delivery," she announced. "Delivering from year twenty-twenty-five, to year twenty-zero-three."

From her chest, a red aura shot out. It was shaped like a large bird spreading its wings. From within it, a blue aura flies out, also in the form of a bird, and lands on the ground before the red aura. Then, both auras vanished.

Jean fell back onto the bed and gasped like she'd almost drowned. She coughed a few times before regaining focus. She sat up on the bed, looking around confusedly. Earlier she was so sick, now she was well again.

But the others were more focused on the group of ragamuffins that had just appeared in the Danger Room.

 **Chapter Two *END***


	3. Chapter 3

**Days of Evolution's Past**

The blue aura of Rachel's Phoenix Force was so many things. It was like a blanket—keeping you warm and cosy; it was a warm bath—relaxing and soothing; it was like a fire—providing heat from the cold, harsh world.

Right now, it was their transporter. Shogo always kept his eyes shut until they reach their destination. He kept a tight hold on Rachel, hoping that she could hold up long enough to take them back in time, and not just by a couple of days.

But that was hoping too much of Rachel, especially considering her weakened state before carrying them away from the Sentinels.

Abruptly, Shogo felt the warmth disappear, and his feet hitting the ground. Travelling with the Phoenix Force would drain the passengers, too, for some reason, but not too much like Rachel. Shogo dropped to his knees, breathed deeply, and opened his eyes.

Rachel was still in his arms, her eyes closed like she was in some peaceful slumber. He looked around, doing a quick headcount—TJ was looking around frantically, fearfully expecting Sentinels to pop up somewhere; Luna was on her knees, bent over and panting tiredly, also exhausted by the trip; and Carmen was curled in a ball with Lockheed wrapped around his shoulders comforting him over the loss of his parents.

Then, Shogo looked up to analyse his surroundings. Everywhere was paned and plated with metal ( _The Danger Room?_ he wondered) but in the centre of the room was a bed with a couple of monitors and scanners around it. Gathered nearby were a group of people who Shogo recognised so well.

On the bed was a young, teenaged Jean Grey and beside her younger going-to-be husband, Scott Summers. Near the monitors and scanners was a large, ape-like creature covered head to toe in greyish-blue fur that Shogo knew was Hank McCoy, the Beast, and of course, there was Professor Xavier, in the flesh, sitting on his wheelchair.

Both parties stared at each other, wide-eyed and silent, not sure what to do or say. Shogo, as embarrassing it is to admit, usually left all these introductions to Rachel, mainly because she was such a confrontational person. But right now, Rachel was unconscious and Shogo was worried about the mental strain she endured to take them here.

 _Where is_ here _, anyway?_ Shogo wondered. To what timeline had Rachel taken them to?

He didn't have a chance to ask because, suddenly, one of the walls of the Danger Room split open, sliding apart, ( _Automatic doors!_ Shogo realised, surprised because he hadn't seen one since being on the run) and two more people entered: Storm and Wolverine.

"What happened here?" Storm asked worriedly. Then, she saw the 'new arrivals' and her brows furrowed. "Who are these people?"

"We don't know," Scott said. Behind his shades, Scott eyes were flitting back and forth between the professor and the runaways.

 _This is my chance!_ Shogo thought, and, giving Rachel to TJ to hold, slowly stood up. All eyes—his team and the first generation of X-Men—were on him now.

"It might sound hard to believe," he began, "but the five of us—my friends and I—are from the future. We are from the year, twenty-twenty-five."

There was a moment of silence, and Shogo could tell that they were contemplating his truthfulness, not that he could blame them—what he said _was_ pretty unbelievable.

"I see," Xavier said. He wheeled himself in front of Shogo, looking up at him from his wheelchair. "What is the purpose of your time-travel?"

Shogo took a deep breath and explained.

When Shogo was finished, Xavier's was listening with such intensity that his expression was frightening.

"Oh, my…" he muttered. "That sounds… horrifying."

"Excuse me," said TJ quietly.

Shogo turned around. TJ was still on the ground with Rachel's head lying on her lap. Shogo see that Rachel was breathing, but she laid there like a dead person.

"Ve need to have her checked," TJ said. "Ve don't know if Rachel's mind is still okay."

Shogo punched himself inwardly. How could he have forgotten about Rachel?

Jean got off the bed. "Let her lie down here," she offered.

Shogo nodded. TJ passed Rachel to him, and he carried the redhead to the bed. Rachel looked like she was a having a peaceful dream, or had died peacefully. The other runaways had gathered around the bed, watching Rachel nervously.

"What do we do now?" Hank asked.

Luna answered, "Mrs. Grey must awaken her."

"What?" Jean said, surprised. "But I have no idea how to. And why did you just call me 'Mrs'?"

Luna didn't answer that last question. "You are a telepath, aren't you? Place your hand upon Rachel's forehead, and call her. She will awake for sure."

Jean looked uncertain, but she did as Luna told her to. She placed her hand on Rachel's forehead and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and entered Rachel's mind.

 _Everywhere was blue. There was no floor or ceiling and the walls were like blue fire but as cool as water. Jean put her feet down and a floor materializes there, as smooth as glass. In front of her was Rachel, lying on her back mid-air. Her hands were on her chest like a corpse in a funeral ready to be buried with her coffin. Jean placed her hand upon Rachel's cheek, patting it gently._

 _'Rachel,' Jean said. 'Please wake up.'_

 _Rachel's eyes opened slowly, and her head turned to face Jean. Her hand reached for Jean's._

 _'Mom...' she said, smiling serenely._

Rachel awoke with a gasp, and sat up on the bed. She looked around, seeing the first generation X-men on her right and her runaway friends on her left. But she turned back to the right and gave Jean and Scott and hug.

"Mom... Dad..." she said softly. "I've really missed you."

The two said young adults simply watched Rachel, not knowing how to reply.

"You should hug back," said the professor. "She _is_ your daughter."

Warily, Jean and Scott wrapped their arms around Rachel. Xavier then told Carmen and TJ, "Shall I take you to _your_ parents now?"

 **Chapter Three *END***


	4. Chapter 4

**Days of Evolution's Past**

Kitty stared despondently at her toy dragon. She was lying on her belly on her bed with her little toy opposite of her. Today was awful.

"It wasn't Kurt's fault at all," she said quietly. The stuffed toy just kept smiling.

Kitty got up to her knees and picked up her toy, looking into its cloth eyes. She told it, "It's so unfair."

Suddenly, the professor's voice rang in her mind, _Kitty, can you please come to the living room?_

Sighing, Kitty put down the little dragon and fell through her bed, dreadfully, into the said room. When she landed on the floor, Kurt had appeared in a cloud of blue smoke on a sofa. They made eye contact, but Kitty quickly looked away.

"Kitty," Kurt said softly. He walked over to her. "You know I don't blame you."

"But, you still—"

"That is the fault of the principal."

Kitty sighed again, frustrated. "But you were a victim! You don't punish the victim."

"I believe we've established that the principal will find any excuse to throw us out," Kurt replied. "Look on the bright side, Kitty. At least we don't have to go to school. Think of it as a holiday from humans."

"But what will I tell my parents? What will you tell yours?"

Kurt couldn't answer that, and looked away shamefully.

"We'll just have to tell the truth," he said sadly.

Abruptly, their conversation was interrupted when Xavier entered the room, followed by Jean, Scott and the older X-Men, and—

"Who are they?" Kitty asked, pointing at the group of runaways behind the X-Men.

Wasting no time, Hank quickly introduced each visitor and explained to the teenagers, "They have come from the future to alter the mistakes of the past. Until the others return from school, I want the two of you to watch over them while the rest of us have a meeting."

With that, the group was left with Kitty and Kurt to entertain. But before the two could bother introducing themselves, Kurt was tackled to the floor by TJ into a hug, and Lockheed took the chance to latch itself onto Kitty while Carmen went over to hug her in a less violent manner.

* * *

"Why were Kitty and Kurt here?" Scott asked the professor as they went to Cerebro.

"Yeah," Jean said in agreement. "They should be in school. What happened?"

Xavier let out an exasperated sigh. "I don't know either. Neither of them wanted to speak."

Entering the steel-paned room, Xavier moved himself towards the control panel and put on the helmet.

"Who're you contacting?" Wolverine asked.

"Magneto's Acolytes," Xavier answered, "the Morlocks, and the Brotherhood. We'll need as many allies as we can to fix the future."

Storm held her chin contemplatively. "Will the Brotherhood cooperate?"

"They will," said Xavier with certainty. "Especially since Pietro's daughter is here too, along with Wanda's."

"But we can't call every Morlock out of the sewers," Hank pointed out.

"I'll just ask for Evan," Xavier replied.

"And the Acolytes?" Wolverine asked, raising an eyebrow. "No way are we having Sabretooth in the mansion _or_ that pyromaniac. The Brotherhood is one thing but two madmen are not coming in."

"I'm afraid we must compromise in this situation," Xavier said. "For the sake of the future, we must work past our differences, and fight together, not one another."

Meanwhile, Jean seemed distracted and out of the conversation, which Scott noticed.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"It's nothing," Jean replied. "I just wonder how are Kitty and Kurt dealing with the 'future' thing right now."

Scott nodded understandingly. "Yeah, I know. It'll probably be hard for them to take it in."

* * *

"So, I get to have a pet dragon when I grow up? Awesome!" Kitty said cheerfully.

She was sitting on the carpet with Lockheed on her lap to pet while Carmen sat beside her. She was sitting in a crooked circle with Kurt on the opposite side together. On his left was his daughter TJ and Luna, and on the right were Shogo and Rachel.

"Who's my future wife?" Kurt asked TJ excitedly. "Is it Amanda? No, don't tell me!" he quickly said. "I have to find out myself, don't I?"

"Well, I would like a hint, at least," Kitty said to Carmen hopefully.

"It's not Alvers, that's for sure," Carmen replied.

"Really?" Kitty said. "I wonder who then…"

"Wait fourteen years," Rachel told her.

"So, what're ze X-Men like in ze future?" Kurt asked.

" _And_ the X-Mansion?" Kitty added.

"We'll discuss that later," Rachel answered. "It'd be troublesome to repeatedly explain things."

"Speaking of which," Shogo spoke up, pointing at Kitty and Kurt, "why are the two of you here? At this time, everyone should be in school, shouldn't they?"

Everyone turned to look at either Kitty or Kurt, who were both looking away nervously.

"Well…reasons," Kitty said.

Kurt nervously cleared his throat. "Yeah, um… There was a bit of a problem at school, so we were sent home early."

"Vat happened?" TJ asked.

"Err…"

Luna could sense their discomfort, and told them, "It's okay if you don't want to tell us."

Kitty looked at Luna with a look of relief, but still said, "We'll tell you some day."

Suddenly, there was a loud _CRASH!_ sound. Everyone rushed to the window and saw Fred Dukes wading through the entrance where the gates have been kicked down. Beside him, the rest of the Brotherhood was climbing over the walls into the compound. There was a streak of silver, and there was a knock on the door.

Luna excitedly went to greet the visitor, who she knew was her father. But when she opened the door, Pietro dashed past her to greet both Kitty and Kurt.

"The Brotherhood's here cuz' of your prof," the speedster said. "Prof X said that there was some important discussion 'bout the future."

"The professor called you guys over?" Kitty reiterated, surprised.

" _Yes_ ," Pietro replied, stretching the word sarcastically. "He even said the fate of mutantkind depended on it."

Kurt turned to TJ. "Vat happened in ze future?" he asked, wide-eyed.

TJ seemed reluctant to answer, and looked at her feet.

"Whoa!" Todd said as he hopped into the house. "Who is that?" he asked, pointing at TJ.

Holding TJ's shoulder protectively, Kurt answered, "My daughter."

"Whose daughter?" Wanda asked, entering too.

TJ looked at Wanda, eyes glistening, but said nothing. She then noticed Luna was standing behind Pietro, twiddling her thumbs as if unsure of how to approach her dad.

Then, Lance came in, took one look at the runaways, and asked, "Who're they?"

Recognizing the man, Rachel immediately stood in front of Kitty, and told Lance, "We come from the future."

Lance analysed Rachel from head to toe, and asked her, "Are you Summers and Jean Grey's daughter?"

"It's kind of obvious, isn't it?" Kitty said, laughing.

"Well, she does have the same look like Summers's does," Lance noted, "minus the shades, of course."

Finally, Fred squeezed through the door, and would've taken the frame with him had Kitty not phased him in safely.

"What're you doing here anyway?" Lance asked Kitty. "I don't think that school's ended yet."

"Ooh!" Todd said teasingly. "Did Bayville's best students get suspended?"

Kurt and Kitty's silence proved Todd correct, so TJ asked again, "Vat happened?"

"We… don't really want to talk about it," Kitty said quietly.

"Unrelated to the topic at hand!" Pietro said, zipping around the teenagers. "Just how long do we have to wait? I've got way better things to do, you know!"

"Right," Wanda huffed sarcastically. "'Better things'! Like what? Rot on a sofa and watch TV all day?"

"The latest 'Flash' episode will be aired in five minutes, and I want to record it!" Pietro answered.

Lance rolled his eyes. "Why don't you just watch it _here_?"

"Well, who _knows_ how long this damn meeting will take!"

"Excuse me?" said a tiny voice.

Everyone looked at Luna. She was tugging on Pietro's shirt and looking up at him shyly.

"Whaddaya want, kid?" Pietro asked impatiently.

Shrinking, Luna quickly blurted out, "Imyourdaughter!"

The others couldn't catch her words, but Pietro's enhanced processing-speed deciphered her words. Pietro looked back and forth from his daughter to the other runaways.

"She's telling ze truth," TJ told him.

"Oh," Pietro squeaked. Even he had had no idea how to react.

Meanwhile, Todd was whispering to Fred, "Someone would actually want to marry Pietro?"

Fred replied, "Maybe he—"

"Just so you know," Luna told those two, "I am a legitimate child."

"It's still surprising," Wanda said as she knelt down to Luna's height. "What with Pietro's personality and all—it's hard to believe that someone would take a fancy to him."

"Hey!" Pietro said indignantly. "I'll have you know that I am the friend of the female population—human and mutant alike."

Lance snorted. "At least, until they know your real personality."

Pietro scowled and leant down to tell Luna, "Don't listen to them."

Standing up straight again, Pietro asked Kitty, sweeping a hand over the group of runaways, "So, whose kids are they? (Pointing at TJ) Obviously, she's Nightcrawler's, and _that_ (Pointing at Rachel) is Cyclops and Jean Grey's kid. What are about the rest of you?"

Kitty wasted no time to introduce her son and her new pet dragon.

"A _dragon_?" Todd said, awed. He tried to pet Lockheed, only for the alien to blow a fireball in his face. Todd screamed and emptied a vase full of water upon his flaming face.

"Lockheed!" Kitty scolded her pet. The said pet simply laughed in a raspy way, blowing out smoke.

"What is that commotion?" Storm said angrily as she entered the room, and she saw the Brotherhood and the X-men plus the runaways, and got the point. "Go wait in the meeting room," she ordered them.

Kurt and Kitty nodded and led the guests out of the room while Storm herself stayed behind to wait for the other guests, namely the Acolytes and he dear nephew.

 **Chapter Four *END***


End file.
